Antonio Conte has revealed that Tottenham forward Richarlison faces up to four weeks on the sidelines after picking up a hamstring injury during the World Cup.
The 25-year-old suffered the problem in Brazil’s quarter-final defeat against Croatia, and had to be replaced shortly before the end of normal time.
There were initial fears that he could be ruled out for six weeks, but Conte has provided a further update after Richarlison underwent an MRI scan on Wednesday.
‘I spoke with the medical department. They said to me we need three or four weeks still,’ Conte said at his press conference on Friday.
Tottenham return to action on Boxing Day against Brentford, and Richarlison now looks set to miss their next three league matches plus their FA Cup clash with Portsmouth on January 7.
He is also facing a race to be fit for Spurs’ league games against Arsenal and Manchester City next month.
Tottenham host their north London rivals on January 15, before travelling to play Pep Guardiola’s side four days later.
Having Richarlison available for those games against the Premier League’s current top two would be a major boost for Conte, but it looks set to be a tight call as to whether he will be back in time or not.
Richarlison is yet to score in the league for Spurs since his £60m move from Everton in the summer, and he has had to settle for a place on the bench at times, with Conte preferring Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski over him.
Yet he found form at the World Cup for Brazil, netting three times across the course of the tournament.
His standout moment arrived in the opening game when he scored a spectacular scissor-kick goal against Serbia to seal a 2-0 win.